My creativity comes from the Universe and benefits the Universe through the sharing of my journey.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Gratitude---A Life Saver

During the low times of my life, I have always used gratitude to pull me back to a place of balance. Thinking about the things in my life that I have to be grateful for aways lifts me up out of my "oh poor me" attitude that can carry me down into depression and keep me there drowning in my own feelings of shame and pity. Gratitude brings to mind the miracles in my life. It reminds me of all of the wonderful people that love and support me.

One of those miracles has to do with when I left home at 19. I finally had the courage to face my dad. I knew in my heart that if I didn't leave right then, that I would never get away from the abuse. Here is the miracle. When I told a college friend that I was leaving, she offered me a place to live for the summer and offered to help me get my first job. I took her up on her offer.

As determined as I was, if God had not put her in my path, I would have been out on the streets, on my own. I knew that if I didn't leave the abuse behind right then, that I would have died, maybe not physically, but definitely emotionally. My spirit would have died. God has always put someone like this friend in my life whenever I have needed the outside love and support. I will forever be grateful to this friend. I had only known her for a few months. We were in several classes at a junior college together. She had a daughter my age. I lived with this family for 3 months and found out what "normal" was.

I remember an Oprah show where she gave everyone in her audience a gratitude journal to write down 5-10 things every day that they were grateful for. I liked the idea so much that for Christmas that year, I gave gratitude journals to all of my friends and some of my family members.

That year I wrote my own gratitude journal including 5 things I was grateful for each day. When I make a gratitude list and start the day with doing this, it affects my attitude for the entire day. What a wonderful way to start the day.

June 15, 2007I made the decision to start my own gratitude journal starting today with the following 5 entries:

1. I am grateful for the love of my husband.

2. I am grateful that I have the love and support of my family and friends as I learn to be me.

3. I am grateful for all of the special people that God has put in my life when I needed a guiding hand, a teacher, or a life saver.

4. I am grateful for the joy of writing.

5. I am grateful for the opportunities to grow closer to the God of my understanding.

June 16, 2007

1. I am grateful for the inspiration that keeps coming my way.

2. I am grateful for my curiosity about life.

3. I am grateful for my thirst for knowledge.

4. I am grateful for my friends.

5. I am grateful for Daniel's (my husband) patience.

June 17, 2007This morning, I actually remembered to start the day with writing these out instead of remembering later in the day. I had a joy filled and very productive day by setting my mood with these things to be grateful for.

1. I am grateful that I don't have to be perfect.

2. I am especially grateful for the bad things that happened to me in my childhood because they molded me into the compassionate, wonderfully caring, loving person that I am today.

3. I am grateful for my parents who were my greatest teachers.

4. I am grateful for the lessons that my children and grandchildren teach me.

5. I am grateful for my journey through this lifetime.

6. I am grateful for the opportunity to get to know the real, inner me.

Yes, there are 6 instead of 5. Didn't one of the above say, "I am grateful that I don't have to be perfect."

I challenge everyone that is reading this to start your own gratitude journal and let me know how this writing affects your life. Start each day by writing between 5-10 things that you are grateful for. If you forget one day, double up the next. Just do it. You will be glad that you did.

2 comments:

I want to thank Alex Blackwell for using this article as one of his Featured Writer articles in the Personal Development Carnival: Issue 27 hosted at his blog The Next 45 Years. You will find the Carnival with this article at http://www/thenext45years.com/2008/01/personal-development-carnival-issue-27.html . Alex always posts some really great articles in this Carnival.

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About Me

I have been on a spiritual path my entire life but only in the last 20+ years have I known what that entailed. My spiritual beliefs are taken from varied religions and my inner knowing. On my fireplace mantle, you will find pictures of American Indians, wolves, buffaloes, and eagles. You will find feathers, stones, crystals, essential oils, and candles. You will find pictures of Jesus, Mother Mary, Krishna, Ganesh and Sai Baba. I believe in all of them. The more I grow spiritually, the more expansive the Universe and my God become. I have been to India three times to visit Sai Baba. I was told to go home and worship the God of my understanding and to pay more attention to my own inner teacher. My stories are just a point of reference for who I am today. I don't go around identifying myself as all of my experiences. Before I started blogging, I had even stopped calling myself an Incest Survivor because that wasn't who I was any longer. I only do it now as a point of reference to offer what I have learned about myself because of the incest to others who might need the hope and love that I have learned. We are all so much more than our experiences can define us as.

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Blessings To All

Divine Love, flowing through me, blesses and multiplies all that I am, all that I have, all that I give, and all that I receive. Thank you.

Disclaimer

The information that you will find on this website and blog are written to be strictly educational or entertaining. I do not claim to be a counselor or a teacher. I am a fellow traveler through this Life. I have thoroughly researched my life and my issues. My desire is to help others through sharing my knowledge and experiences. If you don't want to feel anything, please leave my site. If you want to stay asleep, leave now. My blog is about awareness, my awareness of my life. I accept no responsibility for how you use what you read here. What you do with this information is entirely at your discretion. Seek professional help, if needed.Feel free to share my words and articles with others. I ask only that you change nothing about the articles and that you give me credit as the author.Patricia Singleton